Steamer, more particularly loop steamer

ABSTRACT

A loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops on rotating and positively driven guide rollers positioned adjacent the ceiling of the steamer with only one side of the material being in contact with the rollers, said steamer including expanding means for smoothing out the textile material positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material forming a loop in front of at least one of the guide rollers.

limited States Patent [191 Fleissner Apr. 23, 1974 [54] STEAMER, MORE PARTICULARLY LOOP 2,797,091 6/ 1957 Fife 68/175 X S A E 3,415,084 12/1968 Wilford et al 68/5 D 3,492,838 2/1970 Reiners et a1 68/5 D [75] Inventor: Heinz Fleissner, Egelsbach near Frankfurt am Germany Primary Examiner-William J. Price [73] Assignee: Vepa AG Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Craig and Antonelli [22 Filed: June 23, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 265,512 [57] ABSTRACT r I A loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the (g1 Steamer in the form ofloops on rotating and positively [58] Fieid 8/149 3 driven guide rollers positioned adjacent the ceiling of 5 the steamer with only one side of the material being in contact with the rollers, said steamer including expanding means for smoothing out the textile material [56] References Clted positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the tex- UNITED STATES PATENTS tile material forming a loop in front of at least one of 214,945 4/1879 Needham 68/175 the guide rollers. 1,598,627 9/1926 Voegelim 68/175 X 2,729,537 l/1956 Lasley 8/151 13 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures ooooooo,oo o-mqoooooooootool G L0 P l g6 43- a B f o oooooooooooocooo STEAMER, MORE PARTICULARLY LOOP STEAMER The present invention relates to a steamer apparatus and more particularly to a loop steamer for steaming textile material lengths which are transported through the apparatus on rotating and positively driven guide rollers which are fulcrumed, i.e., rotatably supported, near the ceiling of the apparatus and with which only one side of the material comes into touch contact.

This type of steamer is generally used for heat-setting dyestuffs on a length of textile material. It is mandatory that the material to be treated, e.g. a tufted textile material such as a carpet, be lying on the guide rollers with its reverse side only to avoid any pressure load being applied to the face side of the material to which the dyestuffs were previously applied. Fundamentally, this type of steamer does not present any problems with regard to material guidance the less so as the length of each individual material loop is controlled by a scanning device which is installed at the lower reversing point of the loop. Nevertheless, there are certain types of material, and of these materials especially the carrier fabrics of tufted materials, with which the transport is somewhat problematic. Irregularities in material guidance lead to the production of widthwise or lengthwise creases'in the material length, which creases are then heat-set in the steamer. The actual reason why these creasesare produced has not yet been fully determined. It can only assume that the creases are caused by the non-uniform elasticity whichis inher'ent in the material and/or by, the fact that material shrinkage in width is not uniform.

It is the object of the present invention to provide for appropriate control means which, as an integral part of the steamer, eliminate any formation of creases despite the shrinkage which takes place during the steaming process or which at least remove any such creases so that the material length which finally leaves the steamer is absolutely faultless. 7

According to the invention this problem is solved by installing as expanding means or device near the upward moving str'and'of textile material, and preferably this device is positioned immediately in front of at least one-of the guide rollers, the expanding device extends over the entire width of the' textile material and is in touch contact with the textile material. This device serves to expand or smooth out the textile material as the material is drawn over the device.

There are various types of textile expanding devices known such as, for instance, the threaded expander roller the surface of which is provided with spiral profiles or ridges which start in the center of the roller and run Qbliquely towards the tWQ @Ilds. In addition, it is very advantageous to'subdivide the expander roller into two equal halves which can be driven at different infinitely variable speeds so that this roller can at the same time be used for centering the material length by letting one half of the roller rotate faster than theother.

This threaded expander roller may well be replaced by a convex expander roller; in. this case the middle portion of thematerial length is in touch or close contact with the center section of the roller while the outer portions very lightly rest upon the sloping outer sections of the roller. It is also possible to install both these expander rollers together in a steamer.

The expander roller can be replaced by a plate which is arranged in the path of travel of and in close contact with the textile material and which has one surface facing the material that is provided with linear, obliquely inclined profiles that run from the center line towards the edges of the plate.

1 The disadvantage which certain expanding devices be it the stationary plate with inclined profiles, be it the convex expander roller, or be it the threaded expander roller have is that they cannot at the same time be used for aligning the material on center inside the steamer but, on the contrary, draw any material length that thas run off from the center still further to the respective side. According to one embodiment this disadvantage is eliminated if the expanding means or device comprises at least two essentially level guide elements having the surfaces that face the textile material provided with linear profiles which are obliquely inclined when viewed in the direction of material passage. If theseelements are mounted on a traverse or the like which is located at that side of the elements which is turned away from the material and if these elements can be moved towards the material independently of each other, the elements do not only serve for guiding the'material absolutely crease-free to the guide rollers but can at the same time ensure the centering of the material length. In order to effect centering the elements are moved forward towards the material either by magnetic units or by piston cylinder units which are controlled by an optical or mechanical selvedge scanning device. The elements can thus be made to touch the material and any running-off which can easily occur if any of the known stationary expanding devices is installed can beautomatically or manually avoided.

The apparatus of this invention will be further understood from the followingdetailed description of some embodiments and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1' is a cross section through the length of a loop steamer. of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a threaded expander roller;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the guide rollers of the loop steamer according to FIG. 1 and a stationary convex expander roller;

FIG. 4 is a section through one of the guide rollers of the loop steamer according to FIG. I which guide roller is associated with an expanding plate;

FIG. 5 is a top enlarged view of the plate shown in FIG. 4; I

FIG. 6 is a cross section through another embodiment of the loop steamer;

FIG. 7 shows the loop control assembly for the steamer of FIG. 6 (enlarged);

FIG. 8 is an enlarged top view of the loop control assembly shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG, 9 shows the loop control assembly shown in FIG. 7, wherein a mechanical scanning means is used in place of an optical scanning means.

A length of textile material 2 passes through a steamer (which includes a housing 1) in the form of loops which are formed by guide rollers 3 that are fitted near the ceiling of the steamer. The guide rollers are positively driven and transport the textile material slowly from the input end 4 to the output end 5 of the apparatus. The length of the material loops is controlled by conventional scanning elements 6 which effeet the adjustment of the rotating speed of the guide rollers 3, via gears 7 and appropriate control means (not shown).

To smooth out the textile material length 2 there is an expanding means or device 8 installed immediately in front of each individual guide roller 3, which expanding device extends over the entire width of the textile material and around which the material is guided at the maximum possible angle of wrap; this expanding device 8 may have different forms. FIGS. 2 to show some embodiments of the expanding device.

FIG. 2 shows a known threaded expander roller the surface of which is provided with spiral profiles that start in the center and run towards the two ends of the roller.

The expander roller 9 is preferably subdivided into two equal halves so that the left-hand half can rotate independently of the right-hand half, or vice-versa. The two halves of the roller 9 are driven respectively by an adjustable motor l0, 11 each so that a material length that has possibly run off towards one side of the roller can be aligned on center by setting one roller half to a faster speed than the other.

FIG. 3 shows another type of expanding device, i.e. a stationary convex roller 12.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the expanding device, namely a plate 13 which is arranged in the path of travel of the material length and the one surface of which that faces the material is equipped with obliquely inclined profiles or ridges 14 which run from the center line towards the edges. This plate 13 can either be installed immediately in front of the guide roller 3 or even be bent around the guide roller at an angle X with its upper end. The material 2 is thus immediately transferred onto the guide roller 3 in expanded state.

FIG. 6 shows a steamer employing still another type of expanding device which is designated by reference numeral 15.

This expanding device 15 (as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) consists of two essentially level guide elements 16, 17 which are fastened to a stationary traverse l8 inside the steamer. The surface of the level elements which face the material are provided with linear profiles or ridges 14 which are obliquely inclined in the direction of the passage of the material.

The elements 16, 17 are connected with the traverse 18 by actuating units 19 which serve formoving the elements towards the textile material. These actuating units may either consist of a fluid-operated cylinder and a piston or be magnetically operating units. FIG. 6 shows that in any case, the elements 16, 17 only come into touch contact with the material length if and when the actuating units 19 receive an impulse from certain scanning devices.

According to FIGS. 7 and 8 the scanning devices can consist of light sensitive means 20 which feel or sense the positions of the two edges of the material length and of an amplifier 21 which transmits the impulses to energize the actuating units 19. The result of such impulses will be that either the element 16 or the element 17 is pressed against the material length and that the material length is aligned in the desired direction and- /or creases are removed due to contact of the profiles 14 on the surfaces of the elements. In FIG. 9, mechanical scanning means 20' is used in place of the light sensitive scanning means 20 to determine the position of the edges of the material length.

Adjustments are made either automatically or manually and in case the material length has to be aligned this can be done without interruption of steam supply and without previously cooling the steamer down.

While the novel embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood that various omissions, modifications and changes in these embodiments may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material immediately in front of and substantially at the level of at least one of the guide rollers, said expanding means extending over the entire width of the textile material, being in touch contact with the material, and being arranged with respect to said at least one of the guide rollers so that the textile material is guided at the maximum possible angle of wrap over said expanding means and said at least one of said guide rollers to thereby enhance smoothing of the material on said guide roller.

2. The steamer of claim 1, in which the expanding means is a stationary convex roller.

3. The steamer of claim 1, in which the expanding means is a positively driven threaded expander roller, the surface of the roller being provided with spiral profiles which run from the center towards the two ends of the roller.

4. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material in front of at least one of the guide rollers. extending over the entire width of the textile material and being in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising a positively driven threaded expander roller subdivided into two equal halves which can be driven at infinitely variable speeds, the surface of the roller being provided with spiral profiles which run from the center towards the two ends of the roller.

5. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material that is positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material and in front of at least one of the guide rollers, that extends over a substantial portion of the width of the textile material and that is in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising at least two essentially level guide elements, said elements having surfaces facing the material that are provided with profiles which are obliquely inclined when viewed in the direction of material passage.

6. The steamer of claim 5, in which the guide elements are fastened to a traverse support means which is located at the side of the elements which is away from the textile material.

7. The steamer of claim 6, in which the guide elements are fastened to the traverse support means via actuating means for moving the guide elements towards the material independently of each other.

8. The steamer of claim 7, in which the actuating means is located between the traverse support means and the respective guide element, said actuating means comprising a cylinder-piston unit or a magnetically operating unit. I

9. The steamer of claim 8, in which the unit is connected with a control means for scanning the location of the material selvedge.

10. The steamer of claim 9, in which the control means includes an optical scanning means.

11. The steamer of claim 9, in which the control means includes a mechanical scanning means.

12. The steamer of claim 7, in which the actuating means is located between the traverse support means and the respective guide element, said actuating means comprising a magnetically operating unit.

13. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the celling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises expanding means for smoothing out the material that is positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material in front of at least one of the guide rollers, that extends over the entire width of the textile material and that is in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising a plate which is arranged in the path of travel of the material, the surface of the plate facing the material being provided with profiles which run obliquely from the center line towards the edge of the plate when viewed in the direction of material passage and the upper end of the plate being bent around the guide roller at an angle (X) of less than 

1. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with onlY one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material immediately in front of and substantially at the level of at least one of the guide rollers, said expanding means extending over the entire width of the textile material, being in touch contact with the material, and being arranged with respect to said at least one of the guide rollers so that the textile material is guided at the maximum possible angle of wrap over said expanding means and said at least one of said guide rollers to thereby enhance smoothing of the material on said guide roller.
 2. The steamer of claim 1, in which the expanding means is a stationary convex roller.
 3. The steamer of claim 1, in which the expanding means is a positively driven threaded expander roller, the surface of the roller being provided with spiral profiles which run from the center towards the two ends of the roller.
 4. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material in front of at least one of the guide rollers, extending over the entire width of the textile material and being in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising a positively driven threaded expander roller subdivided into two equal halves which can be driven at infinitely variable speeds, the surface of the roller being provided with spiral profiles which run from the center towards the two ends of the roller.
 5. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherein the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises an expanding means for smoothing out the material that is positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material and in front of at least one of the guide rollers, that extends over a substantial portion of the width of the textile material and that is in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising at least two essentially level guide elements, said elements having surfaces facing the material that are provided with profiles which are obliquely inclined when viewed in the direction of material passage.
 6. The steamer of claim 5, in which the guide elements are fastened to a traverse support means which is located at the side of the elements which is away from the textile material.
 7. The steamer of claim 6, in which the guide elements are fastened to the traverse support means via actuating means for moving the guide elements towards the material independently of each other.
 8. The steamer of claim 7, in which the actuating means is located between the traverse support means and the respective guide element, said actuating means comprising a cylinder-piston unit or a magnetically operating unit.
 9. The steamer of claim 8, in which the unit is connected with a control means for scanning the location of the material selvedge.
 10. The steamer of claim 9, in which the control means includes an optical scanning means.
 11. The steamer of claim 9, in which the control means includes a mechanical scanning means.
 12. The steamer of claim 7, in which the actuating means is located between the traverse support means and the respective guide element, said actuating means comprising a magnetically operating unit.
 13. In a loop steamer for steaming lengths of textile material wherEin the textile material is transported through the steamer in the form of loops having upwardly and downwardly moving strands on rotating and positively driven guide rollers supported near the ceiling of the steamer and in touch contact with only one side of the material, the improvement which comprises expanding means for smoothing out the material that is positioned near an upwardly moving strand of the textile material in front of at least one of the guide rollers, that extends over the entire width of the textile material and that is in touch contact with the material; said expanding means comprising a plate which is arranged in the path of travel of the material, the surface of the plate facing the material being provided with profiles which run obliquely from the center line towards the edge of the plate when viewed in the direction of material passage and the upper end of the plate being bent around the guide roller at an angle (X) of less than 90*. 